Panasonic Slow Juicer: MJ-L500 Review

To start with I was given this juicer by Panasonic after visiting them at their headquarters and spending a day in their Idea's Kitchen! That was like ages ago now. However, I think sometimes with kitchen gadgets you have to give them time to see if they are actually something you use.

I'd be lying if I told you I use this juicer every day, but I do use it more often then other novelty appliances. My favorite thing to use it for is homemade squash.

It's nearly impossible to drink some fruit juices naturally, they are either too sweet or sour or bitter or whatever they have to be diluted. Which is basically squash without all the additives and extra sugar or sweetener.

It's also a great tool to make smoothies and juices! Recipes linked below! I have yet to test it using frozen fruit, but it is one of it's features. Basically when the fruit is frozen it doesn't separate the juice, but makes a sorbet. Might be something I try as the weather gets warmer.

It's called a slow juicer, but it's not literal, it's slow because it squeezes the juice out slowly, extracting more juice and preserving more vitamins. Which is what makes it different then other juicers.

Overall I find this juicer easy to assemble, use, and to clean. Which is something people moan about when I have read other reviews on juicers. If you are in the market for a juicer I would suggest this one!

Juice and Smoothie Recipes: 

Apple & Carrot Juice
Pineapple Fizz 
Super Detox Smoothie
Orange Major
Cold Buster Juice II

*Find out how I got on at the Panasonic Idea's Kitchen here! (November 2016)

*All opinions are my own, I was given the juicer after my visit to the ideas kitchen, but I was not asked to provide a review of the juicer nor was I compensated in any other way. Please see my contact/policy page above for more information. 

Apple & Carrot Juice + 16 Juice and Smoothie Recipes

A long long time ago a young 26 year old wished for a juicer for her birthday. Her desire for such a kitchen appliance came from the thought that store bought apple juice had too much added sugar. Her wish was granted and she was gifted a juicer.

The first juice she made was apple juice. She soon realised that apple juice needed no added sugar as it was super super sweet and needed to be diluted with water.

After that the juicer lived on a shelf, forgotten, and eventually covered in dust. 

Fast forward to present day and with a new slow juicer sitting on her counter 24/7 juicing has become away to drink more then water. See I don't like squash nor do I drink much soda so to add something besides water I am experimenting with freshly squeezed juice and smoothies.

That's right the girl in the story is me! As if you didn't know..... Anyhow here are couple of juice recipes I have made recently. I have also included several juices and smoothies from other bloggers that I just have to try out soon!

Apple & Carrot Juice: 

4 large carrots
2 apple
1 lime
1 small piece of ginger about an inch
1/4 cucumber

- Chop the vegetables and fruit into chunks that fit your juicers chute before juicing them. Then pour into your favorite class with a few ice cubes!

Pineapple Fizz 

1 small pineapple
sparkling water

- Cut the pineapple length wise and juice. Pour into your favorite glass with a few ice cubes and top up with sparkling water.

I love carrot juice and I was very pleased with the Apple & Carrot Juice the lime and ginger counter acts the sweetness of the carrots and apples with a sharp twist. Pineapple Fizz is the simplest juice ever! Pineapple juice plus sparkling water and done. I found it refreshing and light. Definitely recommend it as a mocktail for the upcoming spring and summer seasons!

I am always looking for excuses to use my juicer and here are some great recipes from fellow bloggers!

The Petite Cook - Vegan Apple Pie Smoothie & Carrot Berry Smoothie & Wonderland Smoothie (pictured below)

From Plate to Pen - Simple Banana Smoothie with Ginger

Made with Pink - Ultimate Healthy Green Mojito Smoothie

Fab Food - 5-a-Day Fruit Smoothie 

Foodie Quine - Strawberry, Blackcurrant & Coconut Water Smoothie, (pictured below) Sparkling Mojito Cocktail Juice, Purple Power Juice - Blackberries, Plums, Beetroot, Apples & Fig, Caipirinha Mocktail Juice

Baking Queen 74 - Blackcurrent and Blueberry Smoothie 

Tin and Thyme - Cucumber and Celery Smoothie (pictured below) & Berry and Rose Kefir Smoothie

Kavey Eats - 3 Ingredient Smoothie | Banana, Matcha & Prune & Golden Banana, Turmeric & Maple Syrup Smoothie (pictured below) 

*images are owned by the respective bloggers listed and linked above 

Adventures in the Kitchen - with Panasonic!

If you had invited me over for a meal and told me that you were going to cook all of it in a microwave I would have assumed you were cooking me beans on toast.

And if you only owned a basic microwave I am sure that is exactly what I would have gotten, but there are so many different kinds of microwaves these days! Maybe they always existed and I have just been enlightened by the existence of the variety of microwaves out there? It now is clear of why they are sometimes called microwave ovens.

Either way I went for lunch at the Panasonic Ideas Kitchen and I was served a meal prepped by us and cooked in microwaves.

We had roast beef, focaccia, chopped salad, lemon drizzle cake, dulce de leche brownies and freshly juiced juice all cooked in microwaves except the juice and salad of course.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good the beef turned out. To be completely honest I was extremely skeptical of the beef. I needn't have been because it was perfectly cooked and tasted great! The bread dough was proved in a bread machine and then rolled out and proved a second time in a microwave oven at a low heat before being baked in the same microwave oven.

Salad was chopped using a food processor and had a gorgeous basic dressing of olive oil, mustard, and seasoning. The juice was very experimentally made and had a bit too much ginger. We whipped up the lemon drizzle cake and chocolate brownies and both were cooked in the microwave ovens as we had lunch.

Especially in England where space is crucial I wouldn't mind having a multi functioning microwave ovens. It would be nice for no thinking cooking after a busy day and it would especially be useful when making a big meal like Christmas dinner.

Learn more about the products here!
Microwave Oven: NN-DS596B
Food Processor: MK-F800SXE
Slow Juicer: MJ-L500
Hair Dryer: EH-NA65
Hair Straightener: EH-HS95

I listed two none foodie gadgets because before we went into the kitchen I had my hair washed and blow dried in the salon across the hall .... I know right? This place is amazing. Think I might just move in! My hair always looks great when someone else straightens it. I have sort of given up on straightening my hair, but now I remember how great it looks!

And a last last note before I go, we were given goodie bags and mine contained my very own slow juicer!! So, stay tuned for more on that as I get my juice on!

*I was invited out for the day, all opinions are my own!

Making Smoothies with Boost at the Oracle!

Everyone has had a smoothie at some point in their life. If you are reading this thinking "I have never had a smoothie in my life!" then one you're weird and two you should remedy that like right away by visiting your local Boost! 

Mine is in Reading at the Oracle and I am ashamed to admit I have been walking past it these last few months looking, but never stopping. Until last week when I was invited to get a behind the scenes look at how they make their smoothies! 

Boost was founded in Australia and was introduced to the UK in 2007 by Richard and Dawn O'Sullivan. They saw a lack in the UK market for freshly made smoothies and changed that by opening a Boost here in the UK. The first shop is in Manchester and is to this day the 2nd most popular store in the world! Melbourne of course is number 1.

Smoothies, although a very simple concept, are super good for you and taste great! There is probably a diet trend or someone out there ready to disagree with that statement. There are a million arguments for and against blending and juicing fruit and vegetables. 

From what I gather is that no one has a solid answer. Because some fibres are increased and some decreased by blending and some nutrients absorb better when juiced and others not so much. At the end of the day people today don't eat the amount of fruit and vegetables that they should be eating. A smoothie has at least one type of fruit or vegetable and usual contain more. In my opinion that can only be a good thing and when they taste amazing it's hard to argue how they aren't good for you.

I chose to make the Strawberry Squeeze, it is made with strawberries, banana, apple juice, no fat milk, TD4 strawberry yogurt and ice. I replaced the apple juice with orange juice. It means I got to use the fun orange juicing machine pictured above! One of the perks of Boost - you can make the smoothie your own! Swap fruits or juices or add a supplement; Boost want you to like and enjoy your smoothie so they are flexible!

I believe all of us added or changed things in our smoothies one of us even asked for something off menu! We all had a lot of fun making our smoothies and were all happy with our choices! After my experience I will definitely be stopping by for a smoothie and not just walking by looking at it! I know my girls will love it too!

Boost 

Unit 20, The Oracle, Reading, RG1 2AG

Located in the Upper Mall 

notes: I was invited to visit Boost by the Oracle and Boost as a PR event, I was compensated for my time, but was not asked to give a positive response - all opinions are my own please see my contact/policy page for more information.

Oh and one last thing we were given a gym bag full of fun Boost stuff! Polo shirt, cups, key chains, hats, and stuff!! 

August Break Day 5: Citrus/Citrus Water

Today’s August Break prompt is citrus so I am going to share with you my favorite flavored water. I find it refreshing and it always seems to help when dealing with a nasty cold.

Citrus Water
500ml water
1 satsuma or tangerine, juiced
1/2 of a small pineapple, juiced
1 lime, squeezed

Juice the satsuma and pineapple in a juicer before adding to the water, squeeze in the lime and shake or stir. Keeps for about a day or two, best served chilled.

Love Your Freezer Part 1: Fruit {smoothies & muffins}

This post is the first in two posts where I will be sharing the love for my freezer. Starting with fruit! As a baker fruit is a pretty obvious thing to keep in my fridge, because frozen fruits make great crumbles, cobblers, and pies! 

Frozen fruit (and vegetables) are almost better then fresh. The fruit is frozen almost immediately after it’s picked and by doing that seals in the freshness. An added bonus with frozen fruit is that 9 times out of 10 there is no need to defrost before using them, so it's as simple as throwing them into whatever it is that is being baked and/or cooked!

The most obvious way to use frozen fruit is in smoothies! Smoothies are the best way to make the most out of any frozen fruit. Since the fruit is frozen ice isn't necessary to add ice, which just ends up watering it down. Sainsbury’s have a strawberry banana smoothie pack that make smoothie making a breeze. My two girls love it when I whip this up for them!

Strawberry Banana Smoothies:

½ pkg (eyeball it) of Sainsbury’s Strawberry Banana Smoothie frozen pack

300ml vanilla yogurt

300ml apple juice

Blend all the ingredients together. Adjust the yogurt or apple juice according to constancy.

Any frozen fruit makes a good smoothie, I found the trick is using juice to add flavor and texture. It helps keep the smoothie from being too thick. Apple juice pairs well with strawberries, but play around to find your favorite combination. Also if you juice your own fruit it is even better for you, no hidden sugars.

The one frozen fruit I constantly have to restock is blueberries. That is because they are the best fruit/berry to use in pancakes, smoothies, and muffins. This is my fail safe recipe for Blueberry Muffins; the only thing I did different this time was sprinkle some vanilla sugar on top. It gave these muffins a darker colored top, but it was worth it. 

Feel free to substitute with frozen raspberries, blackberries, cranberries or even cherries in place of the blueberries!

I am always looking for ways to make the best out of my freezer! What tips and tricks do you use? 

Please leave a comment below! 

For my go to Pancake recipe follow the link here 

(substitute the chocolate chips for blueberries)

&

For my favorite blueberry smoothie follow the link here

&

For Gluten & Dairy Free Blueberry Muffins follow the link here

notes: In association with Sainsbury’s for their Love Your Freezer campaign! Check out there Live Well for Less free magazine usually available at the end of the tills for more freezer ideas and tips. Watch out for Part 2: Vegetables and Herbs coming soon!! 

Caramel Apple Crumble

Funny how in my last post I went on a bit on how I don’t like cooked apples. Yet here I am sharing a recipe that I am in love with and it has cooked apples!

I have said before I am completely contradictory. This is just another example of that! In fact I am very contradictory because I love apples in cakes and stuff and they are all cooked.

I might have to rethink this not liking apple pie thing. I have never tried to make my own apple pie nor have I had one made for me. So, maybe I just don’t like shop bought apple pies?

Apples are generally paired with either cinnamon or caramel. Those are both good combinations, this recipe has no cinnamon, but a lot of caramel!

In the states you can buy caramel sauce aka dulce de leche in a tub. It’s marketed as apple dip and they charge a freaking fortune for it. Just buy a can of condensed milk and make your own I say!

This crumble really hits the spot after a big roast dinner or a late breakfast. Don’t look at me like that, it has apples and crumble goodness served with some cream how is it much different from high sugar cereals or a bagel or something?

Caramel Apple Crumble

1kg apples, sweet apples such as Spartan’s or Golden Delicious

2-3 tbsp of apple juice

75g toasted pecans

4 heaped tbsp Bonne Maman Confiture de Caramel

Preheat oven to 180C/gas4. Peel and slice the apples and place them in an oven proof dish. Pour over the apple juice and gently coat the apples. Spread the toasted pecans over the apples before spooning over the caramel sauce. Try to cover as much as the apple and pecans as possible.

Crumble Topping

100g polenta

100g plain flour

75g golden caster sugar

a pinch of salt

75g butter, chilled and diced

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Then rub the butter in until it looks like breadcrumbs. 

to finish:

Spread the crumble topping over the apples and caramel and press down lightly. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Serve it however you find best! I served mine up with some vanilla ice cream and more caramel sauce!

notes: Part 3 of Apple Week; How to make your own caramel; I used the apples from our tree (Spartans), but you could use any type you have to hand. Whatever you want! I used apple juice as my husband is allergic to citrus, but please feel free to use the juice of 1 large lemon. You can also chop up the pecans, but I left mine whole. I found the Bonne Maman Confiture de Caramel at Waitrose in the ice cream topping area. This recipe is adapted from Bonne Maman, The Seasonal Cookbook which I received as a prize from the Cake & Bake Show! 

I want you Cherry Cola Bundt Cake [Clandestine Cake Club recap]

Since the Clandestine Cake Club book has been published in February I have heard lots and lots about this secret cake club on all the social media sites and other blogs. So, finally I got around to finding one in my area! Just as I joined up a new event was posted and I emailed my host right away! This month’s theme, for the Reading CCC, was Bake Me a … Song.

This was a very good theme and I had a hard time deciding on a song/rhyme. I thought of a cookies and cream cake for the rhyme/song “Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?” Or a coconut and lime cake for that song that goes “…put the lime in the coconut and mix it all together…”

 I settled on “I Want You” by Savage Garden and made a Cherry Cola Bundt Cake. I maybe should have used "Lola" by the Kinks. Doesn't matter I'd have made the same cake! 

I had a really good night eating cake and meeting some lovely new ladies who also made some wonderful cakes! I was stuffed! Every cake was absolutely gorgeous! I know because I tried each one! Don't judge! 

Here is a list of the cakes that were made:

Louise - 'Milkshake' by Kelis. Cake: Strawberry Milkshake Cake

Rebecca G - Sweet & Salty' by Covenant. Cake: Sweet & Salty Cake

Lisa - I want you 'Cherry Cola' by Savage Garden. Cake: Cherry Cola Cake

Jen P - Peaches by Presidents of the United States Cake: Peach Cake

Fiona & Rebecca - Running up that Hill by Kate Bush. Cake: Chocolate Sponge

Jenny - Enter Sandman by Metallica Cake: Honey Cake with Honey icing & honeycomb topping

Marilena - Lemon Tree by Oasis. Cake: Lemon Cake

Katy - Lady Marmalade by Labelle. Cake: Chocolate Orange Cake

Bethan - Oranges and Lemons Nursery Rhyme. Cake: Orange and Lemon Cake

All the lovely cakes!!

And if you’d like to have a go at my bundt cake that will make you want to sing “oh I want you I don’t know if I need you, but ooo I’m dying to find out…” (sorry it had too...)! Enjoy!!

I Want You Cherry Cola Bundt Cake

adapted from Rootbeer Bundt Cake in Baked New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito

2 cups cherry coke

1 cup cocoa powder

114g butter, (I used salted as it was in my fridge if you use unsalted add a full tsp of salt)

1 ¼ granulated sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

2 cups plain flour (all purpose flour)

1 ¼ baking powder (soda)

½ tsp salt

2 large eggs

Pre-heat oven 170C/325F grease your bundt tin in you’re preferred way. I always spray with a non-stick spray and then lightly dust with flour then tap out all the loose flour. I have never had a problem getting my cakes out.

Melt the butter over a medium heat with the cherry cola and cocoa powder. Once melted add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Take off the heat and while cooling dry whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Lightly beat the eggs together before whisking them into the cooled butter mixture. Lastly gently fold the flour into the mixture - it will be slightly lumpy. Don’t over mix otherwise it could be tough. Pour batter into your prepared bundt tin, if you don’t prepare it will stick no if’s and’s or but’s. Bake for 35-40 minutes, mine needed the full 40! Rotate half way through. Use a skewer or toothpick or sharp knife and insert in the cake to test that it is done. Once it’s done let it cool completely before attempting to loosen it from the tin. I left mine for at least an hour before turning it out.

Cherry Cola Icing

2 cups icing sugar

3 tbsp Cherry Cola

1-3 tbsp cherry juice

1-4 drops pink coloring (optional)

Whisk the icing sugar and the 3 tbsp until it’s a paste then add a tbsp at a time of the cherry juice until you get a pouring constancy. If you want it pinker add a couple drops of pink food coloring at a time until it’s the shade of pink you want!

notes: Clandestine Cake Club official site find a group near you!; CCC book Amazon UK & USA (kindle) and The Book People; Baked official site; Baked New Frontiers in Baking Amazon UK & USA; I want you by Savage Garden: Sweet like a chica cherry cola...

Pineapple Muffins!! (low-fat)

I made a very yummy sweet and sour stir-fry for dinner last night; the point of me telling you this is that it had fresh pineapple in it. The reason for me stating this is- I didn’t need a whole pineapple.

I remembered this recipe that I pulled out of the YOU magazine (4 March 2012) that comes every Sunday in the Daily Mail. These are made without butter and egg yolks so they are semi-healthy for you!! Do I dare call them low fat?

They are very moist and dense and will keep for a couple days according to the article. My Mini-Baker didn’t really like them because they do have a different texture. I really enjoyed them though, even if they can only be eaten one at a time! This recipe makes 10 ‘buns.’ Enjoy!!

200g plain flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

100g golden caster sugar

200g trimmed and diced pineapple flesh

100ml apple juice

3 medium egg whites (large in the US)

1 tsp vanilla extract

finely grated zest of one lemon (I left this step out as my husband is citrus intolerant)

50g of dried sour cherries or raisins

vegetable oil for brushing (I used sunflower oil)

125g apricot jam

poppy seeds for sprinkles

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and prepare your muffin tin
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and sugar together in a large bowl.
3. Mash the pineapple in a food processor or as I did with my stick blender thing that I used to make baby purees’- it shouldn’t be liquid but a puree with texture.
4. Add all the wet ingredients to the dry. Pineapple, juice, egg whites, vanilla, and zest. Stir until just combined.
5. Fold in the cherries or raisins.
6. The mixture is very sloppy so you will need to brush the inside of your paper cases with a little veggie oil.
7. Carefully spoon the mixture into the cases. I used an ice cream scoop. You can fill them up (not to the top) because they won’t raise much.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are a light golden brown and they are slightly raised.
9. While they are cooling- gently heat the jam in a saucepan and once loosened sieve into a bowl. Then brush the tops of each bun with the jam to glaze them.
10. Sprinkle the poppy seeds over the tops and leave to set for 30 minutes to allow the glaze to set.